Minnesota Vikings Will Have Tough Day Against Torrey Smith

By Jermaine Lockett

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The upcoming Baltimore Ravens–Minnesota Vikings matchup will prove to be a great one. Analysts are already pecking away at keyboards and setting up podcast explaining how tough of a day it will be for the formerly vaunted defense of the Ravens. They are also going on about how Adrian Peterson is going to wreak havoc on the ground. However, the Ravens have a weapon of their own to bring to the table: Torrey Smith.

The Ravens’ no. 1 receiver was leading the league in receiving yards all the way up to Week 5 of the season and when considering the pass defense of the Vikings, you had better believe this deep threat weapon of Joe Flacco’s is going to have a field day. Smith is coming off a pretty solid Thanksgiving night performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers with six catches for 93 yards and one touchdown. He will look to increase his production against the faulty secondary of the Vikings.

Minnesota’s Pass-D isn’t just bad, it’s atrocious. Just last Sunday, they were torched by Alshon Jeffrey all day long as he had 12 catches for 249 yards and one touchdown. With that said, this team is one of the best on the ground, only surrendering 120.6 yards on the ground per game. However, let’s remember that they still give it up in the air, ranking 30th in the league with an average of 287-yards given up per game.

The entire receiving corps of the Ravens should thrive against this porous passing defense and with Smith building more chemistry with Flacco, the third year player should have a career day against the Vikings. Additionally, the possible return of Dennis Pitta will definitely draw some attention away from him, which Flacco should be able to take advantage of. Look for Smith to blow up the stat sheet on Sunday.

Jermaine Lockett is a writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.